Identity Project
The project started in June last year, when a selected group of twelve young boys aged 14-15 years were challenged to think about “Positive self identity” and “Peer Pressure”. The Schools Lead Learning Mentor Belinda Goodin and R2S role models DD Armstrong and Tony Henry could see that the group lacked self confidence and a positive sense of identity.
The group decided to take an extra-curricular trip to the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool.
The trip managed to open the boys up into having positive conversations about the strength of black people including the pain and the struggles they endured.
They decided that they wanted to do a project based around what they had seen. A project about “Identity”. They voted on either doing a performance, collage, workshop or play. It was decided that they would do a collage.
The R2S role models split the group in to two teams, so that they could support individuals more. This gave all of the boys the opportunity to contribute.
They worked together to share their experiences of the trip to the Liverpool Slavery Museum and also brainstorm ideas for the content and the visual look of the collage.
What did identity mean to them? Did the slaves have an identity or was it taken from them? How does their past help them to identify with who they are now?
By the end of the project the boys not only learnt about slavery but also positive aspects of Black History such as African Kings and Queens and this led to a sense of pride and admiration for the growth of black people.
